Infinity
by michiyorain
Summary: Because trying to live a happy life in the Warring States era is next to impossible. It's a good thing they were never ones to follow sappy crap like destiny, anyway. One shot collection. Multiple pairings. Warning: Slash, Het but mostly Crack and some Modern AU
1. Embrace

**Embrace**

Shin only had a vague idea of what an embrace feels like. The feel of another person's arms around his body, pulling him close, letting him feel warm and safe. He only remembered foggy memories of his parent's embrace. It could have been warm, it could have been tight. He just couldn't remember very well.

All the embraces he remembered were after he met Hyou. His best friend shared a lot of embraces with him. Happy ones, sad ones, hurtful ones, but definitely warm ones. Hyou was his only family, his brother in every way, and his only source of affection. When he's with Hyou, the world seemed like a much safer and warmer place.

So when Hyou came back from the palace all bloodied and battered and hugged him for the last time, Shin felt colder than he'd ever experienced. There was no warmth in those arms, only grief and despair coursed through his body, slowly tightening around his weary and broken heart. His world had frozen with Hyou's dying breath.

After he stayed his emotions and strengthened his resolve, he gave Hyou one last embrace, if only for old times' sake. His heart possibly shattered into smaller pieces when Hyou didn't return it and his tears flowed anew and he had to drag himself before he never let go.

Imagine his surprise when he finds Hyou very much alive in a little hut in an outlaw village. He gaped in disbelief. His heart warmed with hope and joy but was immediately broken again. The boy's name was Ei Sei, not Hyou. And he was a king, not a slave.

And years later, as he stands before his king, arms tight around the other man, Shin confesses, "When I first saw you, all I wanted was to throw my arms around you."


	2. Envy

**Envy**

"Hyou taught me this."

"Hyou said that."

"Hyou wanted this."

"I wish Hyou is here to see this."

As a king of a powerful country, Ei Sei was taught that he no longer needed to want for anything. He could have everything he wants at the drop of a hat like it's a mandate from heaven. But Sei was a wise king, he learned to be prudent with his wishes lest he become something abominable like his little brother, unfit to rule and ignorant of the feelings of others.

So far, nothing was denied to him, and he never had to feel envious of anyone who had things he could possibly covet. He already had power, knowledge, money, strength and all the pleasures the world can offer. But there was one thing he could not have and for the life of him, no amount of treasure, wisdom or army could get him the very thing he wants. And that thing just had to rub it in his face every time he's talking to Shin.

Shin was his best friend, the person he could trust the most in this vast country. Albeit completely disrespectful to his rank as a king, he was glad that he had Shin in his life, someone who treated him as an equal. But there was something about Shin that just frustrates him every single time: Hyou.

Admittedly, Hyou was an existence in Shin that Sei could not even dare compete with. Shin revered his former best friend more than he did the great generals he learned from. Shin's life revolved around fulfilling his dream and Hyou's dying wish. And for someone as stubborn as Shin, that was saying something.

The two of them were currently having tea in his favorite room. It was a tiny room compared to the other rooms in the palace, but it was located in the middle of a pond, disconnected from everything and they had all the privacy, comfort and silence in the world—if only Shin would stop talking.

The young commander had just come from another successful campaign and after bagging himself the largest achievement by killing the enemy's Commander-in-Chief, Shin was invited to the palace to receive his reward directly from the king. It was already a common ceremony between the two of them but Shin kneeling down before him and Sei trying to look all sovereign over him never failed to bring laughter to the both of them. So here they were, hiding away from the rest of the world in what Shin dubbed as the "Love Nest". Sei had raised a curious brow at that.

"That seems like a pretty vulgar term for this room."

Shin smirked, "Oh, come on, admit it. You probably bring girls here all the time!"

Sei snorted, "I don't. This is my private reading room. Since I claimed this room, only me, Shoubunkun and Hyou had been here." He paused and realized his mistake when he felt Shin make a small sound at hearing his best friend's name. He never told him that this place was where they secretly kept Hyou when he was still in the palace. Sei looked up from his scroll at Shin's reaction. The man was looking around the room, taking it all in again, like he's trying to find any traces of his dead best friend there.

After a few minutes of looking around, Shin finally turned back to him, "So this is where Hyou lived when he was here?" he asked, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

Suddenly, the room wasn't Sei's favorite anymore. Maybe he'd try to find some other place to read now. Somewhere away from the memory of Hyou's prying eyes. "Yes. He was kept here."

Again, Sei was reminded that as a king he should not have to envy anybody. He just had to accept that Shin would never drop Hyou even at his behest. That Hyou would always be before him.

But there was one thing. One thing that Sei is capable of that Hyou wasn't.

And that was the ability to kiss the sadness out of Shin. Sei smirked in victory as a bright blush bloomed in Shin's face. That's something Hyou could feel envious for in the afterlife.


	3. Family

**It's fine to have requests. Since I have room for more :) These stories are non-chronological and may not exist in the same timeline. **

* * *

**Family**

"No! I don't want to be your daughter!"

"Hey! Why am I your brother?!"

"I didn't know you think I'd make a good grandfather."

"Why am I just an uncle?"

"I'm your father? Ewww."

Shin rubbed his tired eyes as he sat up. Those bastards left him sleeping on the ground again. Seriously, they don't even care about their precious general. They probably won't even notice if he walked off a cliff when he was drunk. They just left him in a heap along with the other drunks. He looked around and found that he was just a few meters from the campfire where some guys were still drinking and making noise with their only girl, Ten. Kyou Kai had disappeared somewhere when the drinking started, as per usual. They had been successful in some minor skirmishes the day before and were supposed to go home in two days after clearing out the area and recovering their dead.

The twenty-one year old general waddled into the wooden logs around the camp fire that served as benches and pushing himself between En and So Sui as he claimed his seat. "What are you bastards being noisy about? It's nearly dawn," he reached for a container of water.

Ten, Bi Hei, Shou Sa, Kou and Hai Rou were on the other side of the fire, poring over something on the ground. Shin followed their gazes and saw some figures drawn on the ground. "Are those people?" he asked as he walked around to the small group.

Ten, who was holding the stick they use to draw, piped up, "Yes, it's something we were wondering about. It's quite fun."

"Why don't you join, Shin?" Shou Sa invited, "It's simple. If you could have any member of the unit in your family, which ones would you pick?"

Shin crossed his arms, "Why would I want any of you bastards as my family? You didn't even care enough to put me down in my tent and just left me lying on the ground,"

"Oh, come on, Shin. It's not like you're the only one. For your information, we didn't help anybody to their tents, either. We're just being fair." Ten grinned at him.

The young general grumbled something about 'uncaring bastards' and snatched the stick from his strategist, "Fine. I'd play your stupid game!"

The small group peered in as Shin drew a stick figure to represent himself. Then he drew another one below it, "There. That's Sei! He'd be my little brother!" He declared smugly, earning horrified looks from the small group.

"How many times to I have to tell you to please stop saying the name of the king so nonchalantly?" So Sui sighed, clutching his aching head.

"The rules are for those only in the unit," Ten reminded him, then she paused, "Fine, I'd let you have him. But let's make him your older brother," she stomped out Sei's stick figure and redrew it atop Shin's.

After Shin's protests were cruelly ignored, the young general drew another stick figure below his, "Ten, you're going to be my little sister!"

Ten just shrugged, "I could live with that,"

After that, Shin drew many more stick figures, naming most of his 1000-man commanders as his grandparents, and 100-man commanders as uncles. Some squad leaders were cousins. He named Hai Rou as his father and Den Yuu as his mother as a joke.

Shin dropped down on the ground to look at his work. There must be about a hundred drawings on the ground around him. Well, he did know that many people. Ten and the rest were impressed that he remembered most of the names of his soldiers. No other generals would have bothered to do that.

"Hey, I think you forgot Kyou Kai," Ten said as she finished poring over Shin's drawings, "She's not in your family,"

Shin was currently throwing back another cup of wine, "Oh, her? I can't just make her my family, you know,"

Ten was a little offended for her friend that Shin could just casually say those words. Bi Hei sympathized with their lady vice-general, "Come on, Shin. At least make her your little sister, or your cousin. You can't leave Kyou Kai alone,"

Shin looked at him like he just suggested something so utterly ridiculous, "I don't want her to be my little sister, or my cousin, or whatever,"

"Have a heart, Shin. Make her your family, too," Bi Hei insisted. The older men were just looking at Shin silently, as if they understood something the younger people weren't. Ten noticed this and started mauling over Shin's expression. She was sure Shin would never set aside Kyou Kai like this so there must be a reason.

"No. I can't _make_ her. I'd have to _ask _her." Shin dropped casually, taking another sip from his cup.

_Oh, so that's it._ Ten and the older soldiers realized.

"Fine, then."

Shin spit out his drink as he and the other people near the fire jumped in surprise. He turned around to find Kyou Kai standing there, with her hair down and her scarf and white headband neatly folded in her arms. It seems she had disappeared the night before in order to take a bath and wash her clothes.

"Since when have you been there, Kai?" Ten clasped her chest as Shin sat back down on the ground while mumbling profanities under his breath.

"Long enough." Kai answered then she kicked Shin at the small of his back, earning another tirade of curses, "So?"

"So, what?!" Shin hissed, rubbing the sore part where Kyou Kai must have thought she just kicked lightly. It hurt a lot.

"If you'd _ask_ me to be your family, what would I be?" Kyou Kai asked.

Shin wiped his spilled wine from his mouth and straightened up his clothes. He looked up at her with a serious expression on his face before saying something that earned him a beating from a highly embarassed Kyou Kai.

"I'd ask you to be my lady,"

* * *

The next day, Ten woke up to the smell of food cooking outside her tent. She yawned as she walked over to the log she sat on earlier that day before they all finally went to bed. She noticed the drawings Shin had amde the night before were already almost erased by the footprints of soldiers who had already gotten their food. But she smiled as she noticed the unmistakable stick figure that belonged to her general and the figure _immediately beside_ it, as if holding its hand. Ten thanked the cook as she was handed her soup.

She looked up to the bright day and said, "Ah~ I can't wait to see my little nieces and nephews."


	4. Water

**Water**

After the serious injury he received from Kan Mei, Mou Ten was immediately taken back to camp to be treated. He was already falling in and out of consciousness as he was carried into a tent. The medicine they had placed on his injuries smelled bad and stung a lot aside from inducing itchiness which, if only his arms were not held down by some of his men, he would have scratched and aggravated. He was forced to bite into a piece of cloth as they stitched his wounds close. The whole process was excruciatingly painful and he was praised by his subordinates for going through it fully conscious. He couldn't even say that it was just too painful for anyone to sleep through.

When he was properly patched and bathed, he was left alone to rest. He had a hard time falling asleep. His wound stung like hell and he hasn't gotten news about the day's dead that he usually fell asleep mauling over. How many people in his unit were killed today? How many familiar faces should he never expect to see again? But his exhaustion finally triumphed over his worries and he fell into an uneasy sleep.

He woke up suddenly. He couldn't tell what time it was, the opening of the tent was closed off. There was a single lamp burning low hanging at the pole holding up the center of the roof of the tent. He was hungry but he can't open his mouth. After a few attempts he managed to open his mouth but then his throat was totally dry, it was scorching. And he was too dehydrated to produce saliva. He felt like laughing at his own helplessness, but then there was a sound coming from the head of his bed, like someone was moving. There was a chair there, he recalled. So there was somebody in the room with him, just perfect. Maybe he could finally get that drink of water he's craving so much.

"W-water," he murmured. His throat hurt and his voice came out scratched. But still, he was relieved he got his message across when he heard the clank of porcelain being put in a table and the gracious sound of flowing water. Mou Ten sang praises in his head. He'd never throw away water carelessly ever again. He never wanted anything in his life more than that refreshing drink of water that was brought to his chapped lips by…

"O-Ou Hon?" his voice almost came out as a whisper but still expressed his shock to find that his benefactor who had kindly fetched him a cup of water and was now sitting on the bed beside his prone body was Ou Hon. Seriously. But Ou Hon just raised an eyebrow at him without a word, nudging the edge of the cup against his dry lips and Mou Ten opened his mouth slightly. Ou Hon tipped the cup so Mou Ten can drink slowly, his eyes on the cup while Mou Ten's gaze was fixed on the young commander's passive face.

Once the cup emptied, Ou Hon made to leave but was stopped by Mou Ten grabbing his wrist. Ou Hon sat still, looking towards the closed entrance, not saying word.

Mou Ten wondered what the other young commander was doing in his tent. There must be something to say, since the hold he had on Ou Hon's wrist doesn't really have any touch of strength. He was a bit surprised that Ou Hon even felt it, enough to make him sit back down. He could have even shrugged it off as accidental, or ignored it altogether and pulled his arm away, but Ou Hon didn't and Mou Ten was left wondering. Ou Hon could never be asked to do what he doesn't want himself.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, glad that his voice no was no longer scratchy. "Spit it out."

"As fellow 5000-man commanders, I had to check your condition," Hon replied, his voice not betraying any emotion, "You were reckless today. Not only did you almost get yourself killed, you also abandoned your post."

Ten snorted, withdrawing his hand. He did not need a lecture. He'd already get chewed out by his father soon. "I just did what I'm compelled to do, alright? Everything else is just consequential."

"This is why we'll never get along," Hon grumbled, crossed his arms and glared at the man lying on the bed, "You're too careless with your life. You easily jump at the chance to save others that you can't even see your own life before you,"

Mou Ten could not find any words to refute the other commander.

Hon took a deep breath, "You're the type of person who makes others miserable. I have nothing more to say to fools like you," Hon stood up and made his way to the entrance, "That time you were knocked off your horse," he paused in his steps, "That's the last time I'd ever save you," and he disappeared between the flaps of the tent, leaving Mou Ten staring after him.

"Liar," Mou Ten murmured as he stared at the ceiling, "You meant 'worried', not 'miserable'."


	5. Empress

**Empress**

Kou watched from the sidelines as the young general Shin played with the royal children in the palace gardens while the king looked on from his tea table. It brought a smile to her lips as the king patted the head of the son she birthed for him. The king was always busy since he had become the true king and had set out to unify the middle kingdom like he always wanted. He rarely had free time, much less time to see his own children. If she was a lesser woman, Kou would have found this a very absurd notion that a father would rarely spend time with his own children, but this was the palace and it played by its own rules. Being together as a family is not a concept enforced upon people of royalty. It's power that is important, whether they'd have to take it from their fathers or brothers. She knows that well enough. She was deemed as King Sei's favorite concubine and she essentially ruled the Royal Harem at the moment.

Kou sipped her tea as she sat at the table inside the pavilion with her best friend You, who gave birth to Sei's first daughter, and the three other concubines who were fortunate enough to be the mothers of the children chasing a laughing Shin around the garden. Her eyes followed the children, who all seemed happier playing with Shin than by themselves. They actually weren't even close with each other and yet Shin's presence made them seem like a bunch of long-time friends.

"They surely are happy. I don't know if I should be jealous of General Shin." You commented as she looked at the young general wistfully. Her own four-year old daughter had taken after Sei's character, unlike her bubbly mother, but right now, her normally demure daughter had just tackled the young General into the ground. The other children pounced on the fallen man and proceeded to beat him up, with the young general feigning hurt while trying to hide his laughter.

Kou and the other concubines smiled fondly as they watched the king rise from his seat and 'rescue' the fallen general after a plea to 'save me from your little monsters'. Only for the king to kick him in the side and order his children to tickle the general to death. The children gladly obeyed their father amid gales of more laughter. The king let out a rare chuckle and sat down on the grass next to the melee as Shin struggled to pry off the attacks.

"If he likes children this much, I wonder why he doesn't get a wife himself. A strapping, kind, young general such as himself, no woman would refuse him. He's probably the most eligible bachelor in the kingdom right now." Lei, mother of Sei's second daughter commented.

"Oh," Mei, mother of Sei's second son uttered, causing the other concubines to turn to her. "He isn't the only coveted bachelor right now." She smirked. Being the daughter of a high ranking palace official, she was privy to more information than all the other women at the table. She was the main source of news and gossip in the harem. "My father was lobbying to marry off my sister to a general from the Ou or Mou familes and was rebuffed by both sides."

The other women were confused. They heard Mei's sister was one of great beauty. To have someone like that rejected must have been a harsh blow. "Eh? General Ou Hon and General Mou Ten are still not married?" Min, another concubine descended from nobility asked.

Mei nodded, "You'd think there's something going on with the younger men right now. For the nobility, it's normal to be married and have a family before our twentieth birthdays. Especially for men in the military. It's important to leave behind sons to carry the torch, you know."

You tutted, "Even the king is essentially a bachelor. He doesn't have to marry any of us to have legitimate heirs." She sighed in frustration as she sipped her tea, "I wonder if we'd ever have an empress in the Royal Harem again." Ever since the king's mother was dethroned for adultery, the Royal Harem had been in disarray without a queen governing at the top. So responsibility fell to her and the four other concubines who had gotten the opportunity to carry the king's children. It was a tiring job made easy by Mei's and Min's connections so the five of them kept the fort of more than a thousand women relatively well. You didn't like the attention she was getting from the other concubines who wants to use her to gain favor with the king. Kou didn't care with her other duties as long as it didn't interfere with her taking care of her own son. Lei, Mei and Min took advantage of their power to make the other concubines do their duties so they have time for their own children and themselves.

Kou just smiled at her friend, and with a knowing expression on her face, she said, "The king will never marry a woman. We'll never have a queen in the Royal Harem, not in his majesty's lifetime." She felt sorry to break it to them, but it was a secret she had kept to herself for years already. That's why she had really no qualms governing the harem as it is now. Because there won't be anyone who'd solely preside over the harem in this generation. And despite a little surprise in the revelation, the other women in the table took her word for it. Kou had always had a connection with the king none of them had, and while it doesn't seem like the king ever showed any real sign of affection for Kou, Kou had an understanding of the king none of the other girls can ever attain. It was Kou's strength, that's why she's hailed as the 'favorite'.

You shrugged, "He must have been traumatized by the queen dowager's behavior too much," she offered.

Kou just giggled along with the other girls. She knew that wasn't it. As she had been in charge of the king's 'attendance of the heart' for the last ten years, she had come to know, little by little, the depth of the king's heart. It had always been just apathy between the mother and son. The queen dowager was hardly any reason for the young king to refuse to appoint a queen by his side. Kou used to ponder over this in her younger days and as she spent more time around the king outside of his duties in the court, she slowly learned the reason why. And while the king never really told her directly, she knew it the moment he mentioned in passing that he, indeed, is familiar with the feeling of falling in love. Kou understood that it wasn't her, or Shika, or any other palace girl.

Gleaning from their conversation, she could guess that it was someone close to the king yet outside the palace. So she observed the king's interactions with other people as much as she was allowed to, and the only one she ever truly saw him act differently with was Shin. Everything suddenly fell into place. The king's refusal to take a queen, his kind refusal to tell her the name of the person he fell in love with even though he easily told her about Shika, and the absence of this beloved person from the king's side when the king obviously had the power to make them stay by his side if he so wished. Kou was new to the idea that a man could love another man, but she loved the king and he had allowed her to continue to do so, she had no right to begrudge him that same kindness he easily bestowed her. She could only be happy for him that his beloved Shin also felt the same way about him. She could see it from the way they acted around each other when they think everyone's looking and when no one does.

Kou called in the children for lunch in the pavillon. The children immediately ran into the shade, famished from playing with the general. As the mothers fussed over their children's disheveled appearances, Kou looked back just in time to see the young general steal a kiss from their king when he thought no one was looking. The king, albeit surprised that Shin would dare do that in broad daylight, blushed a fiery red before smacking the grinning general upside the head and walking away with a flustered expression. The young general rubbed his sore head and caught Kou's stare. He smiled at her, raised an index finger in front of his lips and winked at her. Kou was embarrassed at being caught staring and just nodded at the young general. Shin then stood up and followed the path Sei had just left in.

"Do come and play with the children anytime, General Shin. You're always greatly missed." she called after him. Shin raised his hand and waved as an indication that he heard her before he was gone from her sight.

Kou knew that no woman would ever be an empress to King Ei Sei. She knew that it was not matter of power but a matter of the heart. No one deserved it, not her, not any princess and not any palace girl. And while it is impossible for the king to acknowledge General Shin as fit to rule by his side, it is possible to acknowledge no one at all. The king had given the general his heart a long time ago and leaving the seat next to him vacant was the king's silent oath for the man he loved.


	6. Gossip

**Warning: ShinxSei smut..i 's the first time I've ever written something like this.**

* * *

**Gossip**

Sei finally lay on his side, panting from exertion and sweaty all over, he gazed at the other man next to him. Shin was breathing heavily with a dazed but sated expression on his handsome face. Sei grinned at the young commander's disheveled appearance, not that it was a far cry from how he normally looked like. The emperor rolled over to lay his head upon one of Shin's arms and when he got situated, Shin pulled him closer until his head was almost at the crook of Shin's neck. The general turned towards him and landed a kiss on his forehead. Sei closed his eyes at the gesture.

It seemed to happen too fast. One moment he was leisurely leaping through his wooden scrolls and next thing he knew, Shin was pulling off his clothes while kissing the life out of him. It seemed Shin had other plans when he called this room "Love Nest". That should have been Sei's first clue since the room had become the place where they most frequently had these extremely satisfying tryists.

As much as they tried to keep the real nature of their relationship a secret, Sei was aware that rumors had been flying around the court about the two of them. He wasn't really surprised. Two young men going out of their way to stay in a secluded room for the better part of the day was bound to spawn a few speculations. Whatever they could be doing away from prying eyes was enough fuel for palace gossip. But ultimately, it wasn't damaging at all to either of them anyway so Sei kept Shin out of the loop. Shin had enough achievements in the battlefield to bolster his reputation and Sei was ever the perfectionist when it came to his own duties. He already has an heir, an extra heir, three daughters, and with two on the way, they better leave his sex life alone. And he's not even in the middle of his twenties to boot.

So here they are, time and time again, getting lost in each other's arms. Tangled up in the primitive dance of lust. Shin in his earnest desire to prove to himself that he had protected Sei from his enemies and Sei in his desire to convince himself that Shin had come back to him alive from the battlefield.

"What are you thinking about?" Shin's voice rattled him from his thoughts, followed by the general's hands and mouth travelling all over his chest again as he was pulled under the young commander's hard body. Sei moaned as Shin rained feather light kisses on the crook of his neck. He always liked that and Shin knew it.

Sei ran his hands across Shin's back and pressed closer, thriving in the warmth only he could get from Shin, "Nothing. It's all just a bunch of nothing." And with that, he pushed a slightly startled Shin to the floor and straddled him, holding the young commander's wrist above his head, and slanting his mouth across the other's. One thing he also liked doing that Shin pretty much always provides.

Shin took a lungful of air when Sei broke the kiss at last, "You trying to kill me, bastard?!" he cried but the hardness poking at Sei's backside caused the young king to smirk in victory.

And as he guided Shin's rigid member back inside him again, Sei forgot whatever it was he was thinking about as his vision was filled only with Shin. They could gossip all they want because the truth would be his and only his.


	7. Double I

**Double: Part One**

Shin yawned as he trudged the uphill road that led to the dormitories. School had been particularly boring that day, with club activities not getting any more exciting. His best friend, Hyou, had skipped Kendo club practice that day in favor of returning to the dormitories earlier to arrange some stuff and without his best friend there to fight with, the other members could not even muster enough courage to challenge him. Hyou had told him that he'd be returning home for the weekend. He had said some relatives had come back from abroad or something.

"Hyou~," he drawled as he entered their shared dorm room, only to find his best friend sitting on the bed, reading. "Practice was boring~ Next time you're not there, I'm skipping with you," Shin let his bag drop to the floor before plopping face first into his best friend's bed, groaning about how much boredom he had to endure until practice ended. Maybe he should have gone out to the arcade or something. Tokyo did have lots of corners he had yet to explore.

"Is that so? I'd take note of that."

After waiting for a few seconds, Shin abruptly sat up, backing away from his best friend until his back hit the edge of the desk at the foot of the bed. "Who are you?!" he demanded, looking at his best friend suspiciously. Hyou would not have tolerated his truancy. He should have been kicked in the head by now if this was the usual Hyou. "What did you do to the usual Hyou?"

Hyou's look-alike raised a perfect eyebrow as he looked up from his book, "What makes you think that I'm not Hyou?"

Shin narrowed his gaze at the intruder, "If you were Hyou, you would have kicked me already,"

"I see," he closed his book with a snap, and before Shin knew it, he was thrown off the bed by a swift kick accurately aimed at his head.

"Sei, they didn't have coffee so I just bought a,-" Hyou paused as he pushed the door open at the sight of his best friend sprawled awkwardly on the floor of their shared room, grumbling in pain. "Shin!" he carefully set aside his grocery bag at his study table and knelt over his fallen friend, "What happened, Shin?" he asked worriedly.

"This bastard kicked me," Shin mumbled, "I feel like my teeth loosened," he mourned, clutching his swollen cheek.

Hyou glanced at the other occupant of the room, now poring over the contents Hyou had bought, and picked up a can of soda, "I was just trying to keep up with your way of disciplining him. He's the one who said he should have been kicked."

Hyou sighed and helped Shin sit up, the former glaring fiercely at the person nonchalantly sipping soda. "You overdid it, Sei,"

Shin abruptly stood up, though he swayed a bit on his feet, and was about to aim a fist at Sei before Hyou grabbed him by the waist and stopped him, "Shin, no!"

"Let me at this smug bastard, Hyou. Just one punch! Who does he think he is anyway?!"

"He's my older twin brother, Sei!"

Shin froze, "What?! How come you never told me before? We've been friends since third grade!" Shin looked at his best friend accusingly.

Hyou sighed, releasing Shin and plopping down on the bed where Sei had made himself comfortable again, reading his book while sipping his soda, ignoring their tirades. "You know my parents divorced shortly after I was born, right?" Shin nodded, "My Dad had taken him to China with him. I wasn't even told I had a twin until my Mom called yesterday and told me she's getting back together with my Dad." He tilted his head towards his twin, "And then he showed up here, supposedly to pick me up."

"I thought you were just messing with me. Turns out it wasn't really you," Shin narrowed his eyes and pouted, crossing his arms as he let out a huff, "Hm. I can't believe you're related to this kind of guy."

Hyou looked at his twin. _The resemblance could never be denied._ He had actually liked the fact that he had another sibling. It was lonely being an only child. And he thought Sei wasn't too bad and he hoped he gets along well with his best friend. Shin had been kind of his brother for a long time. "It's not that hard to wrap your head around the idea. We do look the same in every way," Hyou grinned.

Shin gritted his teeth. It was obvious to him that Hyou already likes his twin. "Well, he could go back to China now. One you is more than enough,"

Hyou smiled at his friend sheepishly, "About that, Shin," he started, not knowing how to break this to his friend.

"Next semester, I'd be entering the same school and year as Hyou." Sei smirked as he looked at his twin's dumbfounded friend, "As well as the same dormitory," he finished, relishing Shin's indignant screams. He'd never thought he'd have this much fun living in Japan.

And so, Shin's troubled High School life began.


	8. Bait

**Bait**

"_Here, take it," he said as he proffered the orange in his little hands._

_The little girl smiled brightly at him, taking the fruit, "Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks._

_He had stared at her then, speechless at the way she beamed at him. He had never acknowledged anything as cute before. He had curtailed it out of the garden as fast as he could, if only to hide the embarrassing flush of his cheeks. _

Ou Hon grumbled as he opened his eyes. It had been that stupid dream again that he'd had since he could remember. He tossed aside his blanket and scrambled out of his bed. It was still dark outside, and the estate was yet to start preparations for the day. That was the time the 23-year-old general usually woke up in order to start his daily regimen of training and exercise. No one was allowed to disturb him during his personal training, unless that person wished to be flogged.

Ever since he had attained the rank of General, he had been granted a city as his own fortress. Shin and Mou Ten had teased him to no end about it, Ten saying that it had fit him perfectly since he was from nobility and Shin adding that he'd get a bigger city once he becomes a general. He had ruled the city with an iron fist and stone clad discipline. He was a strict leader and he never tolerated anyone breaking his rules, whether it is the nobility or commoners.

He walked out shirtless into the cold, a spear in hand and a towel on the other. The garden was a little dark, but the lamps from the nearest corridors were enough to light his path as he trudged deeper into the garden. He noticed the Orange trees along the side were bearing lots of fruit. He would have to remind the caretaker to pick them out later. Once he reached his usual training ground, a small clearing at the east side of the garden, he set down his spear and worked on his warm-up exercises, normally stretching first.

"_Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks._

The general froze, eyes narrowing before continuing his thousand push-ups. He shook his head as he tried to bring back his concentration into what he was doing. Afterwards, he picked up his spear and started thrusting it viciously, as if he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. As a general, he rarely had a chance to jump into the melee himself, since his army is composed of elites and had never caused him to worry, but occasionally he missed getting caught in the storm of war, so he trained as hard as he ever did.

"_Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks._

Ou Hon shook his head and swung his spear a hundred more times over his head.

"_Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks._

"Godfuckingdammit!" he cursed as he threw the spear into the ground. His head ached at the notion that he was being disturbed from his training by such a trivial memory from his childhood. He stomped over to where he had laid down his towel and wiped at his arms and back. He lay down on the ground panting, finding himself staring at the oranges hanging from the trees around him. Now why does he have so many orange trees in his garden? He grunted, hating the memory of that young day even more.

He had been no more than five years of age back then. Ever since he could remember, he had been practicing with spear in hand everyday in the gardens of his father's estate. His father never had time for him so he trained on his own, away from the prying eyes of other people. That day, he was training alone as well, deep in the gardens. He had worked up quite a sweat from brandishing the small spear, and he was getting hungry. He decided to eat some oranges from the garden and went to look around when he saw her, a small red-headed girl, sitting in the shade of the orange tree, watching him with a curious expression. He didn't even know when she had arrived so, of course, he had questioned her. She explained that she had come visiting the estate with her mother, who was childhood friends with the lady of the house. After adding that she got permission to wander around, Ou Hon proceeded to ignore her, walking past her to climb into the tree she was sitting under.

She had followed him carefully with her gaze, her brightly colored clothes irritating his eyes. He always thought girls were so troublesome, he'd actually tried to control himself in case he makes her cry with something trivial, which would make her even more bothersome. He plucked some fruits from a nearby branch and jumped down the tree. He sat a little ways away from the girl, choosing to face the other way. At least she was a quiet one, unlike all the others, he had thought. He had gone through all the oranges he had plucked, except for the last one, when he turned his head to check if the girl had left. Much to his surprise, she was attempting to climb the tree, and succeeding at it for the most part. Then she fell.

He was prepared for the shrill cry that would follow but there was none. He furrowed his brows in confusion when the girl giggled slightly, rubbing her bottom and scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. He actually thought she was a bit touched in the head at that moment. She wasn't acting like the delicate girls he had to deal with in the estate.

With a bit of hesitation and more of irritation, he had grudgingly extended his hand and helped her back to her feet. She just continued giggling. That was when he had sighed in resignation and handed her his last orange.

She had smiled at him.

And he immediately walked away.

He never saw her again after that. They had not stayed in the estate for the night and had never visited since. But ever since then, occasionally, he'd dream about that time in the garden among the orange trees and of that girl with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"The oranges from your house are really the best, Hon,"

The aforementioned general closed his eyes in annoyance. Not bothering to get up, he turned his head to the source of the familiar voice, who was sitting cross-legged below one of his orange trees, peeling a fruit. "How many times do I have I to tell you to stop trespassing and stealing my oranges?"

Mou Ten ignored the piercing glares sent in his direction as he popped a slice into his mouth, letting out a delicious moan as he tasted the sweet flavor, "Yes, this is the best," he commented as he placed another slice into his mouth. "Can I take some home?"

Normally, he'd have such reckless intruders flogged publicly in the main square. But seeing as it was Mou Ten, a fellow general, he knew he had no choice but to let him go again. He could have him flogged, since he was the master of the estate, but Ten was the most stubborn idiot he had the misfortune to know, right alongside the loud-mouthed peasant. Flogging him would not be enough of a lesson, and he'd just find the guy trespassing and stealing more and more. It would be a never-ending cycle. He doesn't even know how the guy manages to sneak into the estate anyway every single time! Sadly, he can't blame or punish any of his subordinates about that. The guy was truly sneaky, there's a reason why he was a general.

As much as he tried to ignore the red-head with his irritatingly bright girlish clothes, he finds himself glancing every now and then, looking at that equally girlish face break into a smile as he chews on his orange. "Just take whatever you want and don't ever come back here again," Hon answered, though he knows the guy would sneak in sooner or later again, just to be a bother.

Ten snickered, wondering how many times Hon had already said that. "Thank you very much!" he smiled softly, popping another slice into his mouth, "Though, seriously, why don't you just give me a tree or two?"

He received a pointed glare as a reply. "No,"

Ten stood up, straightening his robes, "Alright, I understand," he walked over to the other general, ignoring the spear being swung dangerously close to his face. He leaned close to Hon's ear and whispered, causing the general to turn red and push him away roughly. Ten snickered, waving a hand as he walked away, "I'd go find a room to sleep in now,"

Ou Hon muttered curses under his breath as he picked up his spear. He'd surely find the redhead sprawled in his own bed again, claiming that it was the most comfortable bed he could find.

"_Hon, you don't need oranges to lure me into your house, you know,"_

He can't believe such a guy had cheated him of something as trivial as his first love.


End file.
